Can you give examples of how the macros would be used? Your QuickLinker line and the resultant text on the QuickLinker menu?
Sure. Given a profile with stereotypes <<colour>> (Class) and <<prtrthn>> (Association), a quick linker definition line might read
Class,colour,Class,colour,,,,Association,prtrthn,to,#SRCNAME# is prettier than #TGTNAME#,,TRUE,,TRUE,TRUE,,0,,,,,0Used in a model with two <<colour>> Classes 'Coelin Blue' and 'Asda Green', quicklinking a connector from the former to the latter would yield a menu item
Coelin Blue is prettier than Asda GreenSo it saves you having to write captions on the form
"From" colour is prettier than "To" colour... which don't exactly roll off the tongue.
What other objects might get placeholders (besides origin/destination element name)?
In terms of element properties, none that I can see, really. Any information relating to the source/target element types is dealt with by adding separate definition lines.
This facility would add the ability to present information from the individual elements between which the connector is being drawn, and I don't see that anything other than the name (and alias if preferred) would be of much use. Possibly version, status, stuff like that, but I don't have a specific use case for those.
Of course, the recently added _MeaningForwards and _MeaningBackwards connector metaclass attributes could be used to good effect as well. If those were defined as "is prettier than" and "is uglier than" in the example above, you could create macro:ed captions like
Class,colour,Class,colour,,,,Association,prtrthn,to,#SRCNAME# #MEANINGFWD# #TGTNAME#,,TRUE,,TRUE,TRUE,,0,,,,,0
Class,colour,Class,colour,,,,Association,prtrthn,from,#SRCNAME# #MEANINGBCK# #TGTNAME#,,TRUE,,TRUE,TRUE,,0,,,,,0giving you a popup menu with two items
Coelin Blue is prettier than Asda Green
Coelin Blue is uglier than Asda Green... resulting in the same <<prtrthn>> Association being drawn, but in different directions.
Why?
You're just showing the user the same information that they have already selected. How does this vary between the different options shown by the quicklinker? I can't see it being anything except noise for an end user.
Good point, providing that all users is one user, who is fully conversant in the UML metamodel and the quirks of EA, and that the profile is strictly defined in terms of said metamodel as well as fully documented, communicated to, and understood by that user. So for me, yes, it would just be added noise.
But for users who are not modellers by profession or by choice, this is a small but not insignificant productivity enhancer.
/Uffe